CNN —Russia’s leading aircraft manufacturer says it’s completed a successful test flight of a new widebody passenger airplane that it claims could replace Western aircraft in the country’s skies. UAC, which oversees Russian aviation brands including Tupolev, Ilyushin and Sukhoi, said the plane will be capable of carrying up to 370 passengers, a capacity that would put it alongside the likes of Airbus’ A340 or Boeing’s 777. As of 2022, only 144 active Russian airline planes were built in Russia, according to data provided by aviation analytics firm Cirium. “Although Moscow won’t admit it, the sanctions that followed the Ukraine invasion have really damaged Russian aviation,” Murdo Morrison, head of strategic content at FlightGlobal, tells CNN. Addressing concerns, Russia’s Ministry of Transport said at the time that flight safety on Russia-operated aircraft meets international standards.

---

Persons: CNN —, it’s, ”, Denis Manturov, Vladimir Putin, Murdo Morrison, ‘, Yuri Slyusar, FlightGlobal’s Morrison Organizations: CNN, CNN — Russia’s, United Aircraft Corporation, UAC, Russian, Tupolev, Sukhoi, Airbus, Russia, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, Moscow, ”, Ural Airlines, International Civil Aviation Organization, Russia’s Ministry of Transport Locations: Ukraine, Russia, “, Russia’s Novosibirsk, Bhutan, Congo, Liberia, Moscow